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National market update

Existing-Home Sales Surge Back in December

WASHINGTON (January 22, 2016) — Existing-home sales snapped back solidly in December as more buyers reached the market before the end of the year, and the delayed closings resulting from the rollout of the Know Before You Owe initiative pushed a portion of November's would-be transactions into last month's figure, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Led by the South and West, all four major regions saw large increases in December.

REALTORS® Expect Moderate Price Growth in Next 12 Months

REALTORS® who responded to the November 2015 survey expected prices to increase by 3.2 percent over the next 12 months (3.2 percent in October 2015; 3.0 percent in November 2014).9 REALTORS® expect the recent strong price growth to moderate as rising prices have made homes "unaffordable” for many, according to the November 2015 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report.

Existing home median price (December)

Housing Starts (December)

New home sales (December)

National economic indicators

Home ownership

4th Qtr 2015

+63.8%

4th Qtr 2014

+64.0%

The homeownership rate in the fourth quarter 2015 was 63.8 percent, down 0.2 (+/- 0.4)* percentage points from the fourth quarter 2014 rate of 64.0 percent. The homeownership rates in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West were not statistically different from the rates in the fourth quarter 2014.

New home sales

December 2015

+10.8%

November 2015

+1.9%

Sales of new single-family houses in December 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000. This is 10.8 percent (+/- 17.1%)* above the revised November 2015 estimate of 491,000.

Source: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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Regional market updates

View market statistics for your region.

Click on the links below to view data from two different industry sources. Choose information on local prices & state sales from any of 178 metropolitan housing markets prepared by the National Association of REALTORS® or information on sales & price activity from local area markets in 25 states prepared by Clarus MarketMetrics.

Terry Kraemer

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